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Body Fat / Skin

Overweight, Biomarkers, and Nutritional Interventions

Sedentary behavior and a general overconsumption of calories, especially from processed foods, are primary drivers for overweight/obesity.1,2 Such changes can be identified and tracked by implementing a measure known as body mass index (BMI); a metric relating weight (kilograms) divided by height (metres2) to normative values.3 Other biomarkers that provide meaningful insight into an individual’s…

Can Online Social Support Help Us Lose Weight?

Obesity is an epidemic estimated to effect more than one third (36%) of adults in the United States.1One driver behind such an epidemic is the chronic overconsumption of food. In this author’s last post, cognitive and behavioral recommendations were briefly explored to facilitate liberation from conditioned hypereating (CH) and consumption of ultra-processed food and drinks…

An Anthropological Lens on Obesity: How We Lost Our Way

Obesity is not only a disease, but an epidemic driven by hormones, behavior, genetics, as well as bacteria, physiology, pathogenic pathways, and culture.1 Obesity has continued to extend its grip reaching Asia, the Near and Middle East, Western Pacific regions, and Sub-Saharan Africa.2 Modern day living is considerably different from Homo sapiens 10,000 years ago,…

Inactivity, Addictive Foods, and How They Drive Obesity

Obesity is a mounting public health issue, which has tripled in growth over the past 40 years, and is among the biggest preventable deaths worldwide.1 Obesity can be defined as men who exceed 25% body fat, and women who surpass 35% body fat; measures that apply to 72% of males and 64% of females in…

Biomarkers of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a term that identifies an aggregate of physiological abnormalities which increases the risk of liver disease, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular disease (Agyemang-Yeboah, Eghan, Annani-Akollor, Togbe, Donkor, & Afranie, 2019). Physiological abnormalities that constitute MS include dysregulated glucose metabolism, high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, and abnormal lipid profiles (Agyemang-Yeboah et…

Measuring Body Composition

Body composition (BC) can be defined as the proportions of various tissues (i.e., fat, muscle, and bone) making up the body, which is generally expressed as percent body fat and percent lean body mass (Lee & Nieman, 2013). As such, knowing BC can help one track changes during weight loss or weight gain programs, in…

Children Are Not Miniature Adults

Children and adults share similar biochemical and physiological characteristics. However, “similar” should not be confused with “identical.” I would like to review some of these characteristics, identify similarities, and attempt to show subtleties that exist between these two age groups. Childhood might be defined as the period of time between the first birthday and adolescence,…